Versatility is my speciality.

Outstanding Festival Poster Designs

2011-09-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

Some great examples of festival fliers. Gorgeous stuff collected by a design blog worth checking out.

On the Subject of Jetpacks

2011-07-01T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Ladies and Germs!

A much needed update! I have been working on other projects and really thinking about the direction I want this blog to go in. Right now it's been mainly highlighting projects I have done, but there is so much stuff I accumulate that I would love to share with everyone. Look, an informative website about good practices for creative resumes! Gee, golly, some super groovy animation over here! And my lucky stars, we also got a page on building jetpacks! Ok, I lied about the last one...but your over there and I'm over here and there's not much you can do about it.

P.S. If you do find a site on building jetpacks please forward it to me. Thanks.

Ode to Medical Illustration

2011-05-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

I've been working now full time on the fetal development series that I am producing for CMSP. I know it would be a challenge, being my first professional medically oriented illustrations, but that challenge has proved to be even more enjoyable than I thought. I am truly excited by the process so far, and am continually surprising myself with the images I am creating. That is always my best work, the ones where you step back and say "Did I do this?"

The original sketches look almost nothing like my final product (which I hope to be able to post soon). Here they are:

The final product is much more painterly, with rich color and heavy texture defining every cell and structure. I am using various references, but always trying to get the most complete image by combining elements from all- and thus really creating a image that may be unique from others already out there. I can't wait to share those, and I hope they open the door to other opportunities in the field.

When it boils down to it, I love medical work because it poses the greatest challenge to me and allows me to do what I love best: learning and exploring, understanding my world. It forces you to try news things in order to solve constantly evolving problems, and I mean that. If I could be honest about one thing, it is that my greatest weakness can also be my greatest strength: curiosity. I love tackling new projects, no matter how complex, because it keeps me interested. Thus, my ideal job would expect a variety of tasks from me, versus just one on a constant basis. Hopefully there's a place out there that needs someone like me.

The Joys of Tracing Paper

2011-04-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

Working today on the children's book. It's been a process to develop the character that the author envisioned, but we have it down and I'm onto the next step. I'm finding that for more complex images, I work well with creating a series of initial sketches, and then using tracing paper to build up to a single polished piece. I then scan that in and can color it or clean up. It takes alot of the pressure off when drawing seperate components, that they can be shifted, resized, just more malleable. There's nothing more annoying than working on something for a long time, and then one slip of the hand....

Also, it's been on my mind that I need to brand myself. Thankfully, I'm too busy to do it, but it's something I would like to start developing on my own time. Maybe in the future I'll post some ideas.

All engines GO!

2011-04-12T10:01:00.000-07:00

These past months have suddenly livened up and that is always a great feeling. Waking up every morning to tackle new and challenging projects is perhaps one of my favorite things in life. Sure, it has it's stressful moments, but it's the kind of tickling feeling that makes you feel productive and useful. Your reminded of all the times that you've gone through that grueling process only to come out the other end with good, polished work. It's also when you learn about your process, some new tricks, and ultimately- yourself.

So what do I got? Two pretty big projects. One is a children's book for Inkspill Publishing (www.inkspillbooks.com/) a rather new company looking to expand their book selection. The other is a medical stock company (www.cmsp.com) which has asked for step-by-step illustrations of fetal development. Could two projects be more different? But that's what makes life fun!

Also, I got a few small projects from the Tennessee Report, an on-line newspaper (www.tnreport.com). Did their intro animation (which I'll post later) and an illustration for a story on fiscal notes (below).

Character Design: The Website!

2011-03-01T17:18:00.000-08:00

I found a website that I would love to share. http://characterdesign.blogspot.com/ Some wonderful interviews with illustrators and animators that I found very inspiring and helpful. Check it out!

Restart

2011-01-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

Sometimes no amount of explanation will better than just showing. It's action. I got some good advice this week and it has made me consider a lot about how I present myself and my work. Blogging should be second nature to me but somehow I stumble. That's okay. Failure is good. We need it to show us that we are learning.

A Tale of Sugar Buns

2010-07-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

Deliciousness. I got asked to design a wedding cake. My friend over at Delicity Cakes makes some amazing examples of what cake can be. Not only are these babies pretty like most of the fondant cakes that are becoming stylish, but they are made from scratch so they are TASTY! Her fillings are made from real fruits and fresh ingredients, none of this canned stuff. So, you get a cake that makes you rethink everything you thought you knew about layered fluffy pastry structures. How do I come into this? Well, this couple wanted quite the cake. Everything but the kitchen sink...hot dogs and buildings and sushi and monkeys and clocks...oh, my! She figured that as an artist I might be able to make sense of it. I worked out a sturdy square base with a hexagonal tier to accommodate all the different objects on it's facets and then two more smaller tiers. The objects were quite complex, so I offered my help even though I had never worked with fondant before.

For those of you that have never seen the stuff...it's sugar, it's dough...it's a pain. It dries out, cracks, sags and sinks. However, after working for almost non-stop without sleep...she baked and I cut "relish" out of fondant and made hats for monkey grooms; we had a wedding cake at the nick of time. Here it is:

The shrimp sushi. I had lots of fun with the airbrushing.

Front of the cake. Lower tier airbrushed all around and Chicago skyline done in fondant.

Trees were done in back and some cherry blossoms as well.

Macy's clock and hotdog. I am fairly proud of this considering it was my first cake.

It was a challenge considering the design is not very cohesive considering the theme of the cake.

The Witch

2010-07-06T11:35:00.000-07:00

Cyphan had it's first year and I got to be there with claws on. A catch all sci-fi/fantasy convention, it was small but fun. I got talked into dressing up like the Witch from the zombie videogame Left 4 Dead and I was intrigued by her long claws. I love dressing up and enjoy creative challenges most of all. Here are some pics of me with the finger extensions...these babies were made on the cheap with some shrink wrap and a hot glue gun (with wax to help with shaping and modelling.) It ended up being very successful since they were lightweight, I was able to fully articulate my fingers, they remained attached the full night, and they appeared pretty gruesome up close. Modeling wax and spirit gum was used blend in the edges to my hand, creating a seamless space of burnt, bubbly skin and cartilage.

Watch me in action on the World of the Weird Monster Shows

coverage of the Zombie Pin-Up contest!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wowms-test-1